The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received some positive news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters has been completed, which had left the Starliner in orbit since early June. Boeing and NASA were waiting for this testing to conclude before organizing the vessel’s journey back home.
An update released last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data review.” The purpose of the test was to analyze thruster degradation so that engineers could better understand the reasons behind some thrusters being deactivated during flight and assess the implications of reactivating them for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” pertains to thrusters that ceased functioning. Before and during the Starliner’s launch, leaks were detected in the helium tanks that control the thrusters, contributing to several delays. Last month, officials reported that the spacecraft was carrying 70 hours’ worth of helium, despite only requiring seven. Although they mentioned earlier this month that the Starliner could return to Earth at any moment if necessary, they indicated that preparations were not fully complete.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could potentially be scheduled for the end of this month. However, this timeline is now less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, as well as finalize flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”